What happens when the wicked die at the second coming?
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17
2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:2,3
The above verse is talking about the coming of the Lord. It mentions that when Jesus returns, sudden destruction comes upon those who were not saved. It ends with “and they shall not escape”. But this verse doesn’t say anything about them dying. However, let’s see what Jesus has to say about His own coming:
26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. Luke 17:26 -30
So what happened in the days of Noah? When Noah and his family entered the ark, those who did not believe died immediately at the flood. What happened in the days of Lot ? When Lot finally left Sodom and Gomorrah
So we know that those who believed in God are saved when Jesus returns and those who did not believe do not escape from the sudden destruction. Other texts make it clear that when Jesus returns, those left behind will be destroyed, not given another chance during some hypothetical “seven-year Tribulation” (which, by the way, is nowhere specifically referred to in the Bible). Here are just a few texts describing the global desolation that follows Jesus’ return.
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 - When Jesus returns in flaming fire, the lost will be destroyed.
Revelation 16:17-18 – At Armageddon, cities crumble around the world.
Revelation 6:14; 16:20 - Every island sinks, and all the mountains disappear.
Jeremiah 4:23-26 - Planet Earth is totally devastated, with “no man” left alive.
Jeremiah 25:30-33 - Those slain by the Lord lie dead, unburied, all around the world.
Revelation 19:17-18, 21 - The birds eat the flesh of every human being worldwide.
Revelation 16:17-18 – At Armageddon, cities crumble around the world.
Revelation 6:14; 16:20 - Every island sinks, and all the mountains disappear.
Jeremiah 4:23-26 - Planet Earth is totally devastated, with “no man” left alive.
Jeremiah 25:30-33 - Those slain by the Lord lie dead, unburied, all around the world.
Revelation 19:17-18, 21 - The birds eat the flesh of every human being worldwide.
These verses teach that those not “caught up” when Christ returns will be destroyed, and the destruction will encompass all the earth, as it did during Noah’s flood. Jesus Himself taught this. “The flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the son of man be” (Matthew 24:39). So to conclude, when the true believers are resurrected, the rest of those who are unjust literally die.
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It is at this point that we introduce the Millennium. This is mentioned in the book of Revelations. There is massive confusion about the “Millennium” in Christian churches. Some teach it is entirely symbolic, some teach that it is not worth fretting over. Some say that this period is now. Most prophetic teacher contend that this apocalyptic period is still future and will follow the Second Coming of Jesus and will be a universal peace on earth as Jesus governs all nations from Jerusalem.
To discover the answer, we must carefully examine the only authoritative source where it’s taught, the Bible, especially chapter 20 in the book of Revelation. Let’s see what Revelation 20 actually says, and doesn’t say.
Revelation 20
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Now here’s a brief summary of each verse (we will soon take a closer look at these events):
vs. 1 - An angel descends from heaven with a key and a chain.
vs. 2 - He binds Satan for 1000 years.
vs. 3 - During the 1000 years Satan cannot deceive the nations any more.
vs. 4 - Martyrs are resurrected to reign with Jesus Christ for 1000 years.
vs. 5a - The rest of the dead will be raised at the end of the 1000 years.
vs. 6 - Those in the first resurrection will reign with Jesus for 1000 years.
vs. 7 - Satan will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years.
vs. 8 – After the rest of the dead are raised, Satan deceives them again. There will be billions - like the sand of the sea. They are called Gog and Magog. Satan gathers them for a final battle.
vs. 9 - Satan and this host surround God's City. Fire comes down and devours them.
vs. 10 - Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet end up in this lake of fire.
vs. 11 - Before this fire falls, a final judgment occurs.
vs. 12 - All the resurrected lost are judged.
vs. 13 - Another description of the resurrected lost being judged.
vs. 14 - Death and Hell [Hades-Grave] are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.
vs. 15 - All the resurrected lost are cast into the lake of fire.
vs. 2 - He binds Satan for 1000 years.
vs. 3 - During the 1000 years Satan cannot deceive the nations any more.
vs. 4 - Martyrs are resurrected to reign with Jesus Christ for 1000 years.
vs. 5a - The rest of the dead will be raised at the end of the 1000 years.
vs. 6 - Those in the first resurrection will reign with Jesus for 1000 years.
vs. 7 - Satan will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years.
vs. 8 – After the rest of the dead are raised, Satan deceives them again. There will be billions - like the sand of the sea. They are called Gog and Magog. Satan gathers them for a final battle.
vs. 9 - Satan and this host surround God's City. Fire comes down and devours them.
vs. 10 - Satan, the Beast, and the False Prophet end up in this lake of fire.
vs. 11 - Before this fire falls, a final judgment occurs.
vs. 12 - All the resurrected lost are judged.
vs. 13 - Another description of the resurrected lost being judged.
vs. 14 - Death and Hell [Hades-Grave] are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death.
vs. 15 - All the resurrected lost are cast into the lake of fire.
Remember earlier how I mentioned that there was a resurrection for the living and one for the lost? To break down Revelation 20 further, there is a ‘good resurrection’ (called “the first resurrection”) at the beginning of the 1000 years (vs. 4-6), whereas “the rest of the dead” are resurrected at the end of the 1000 years (vs. 5a). Satan is bound during the 1000 years (vs. 3), but is loosed “when the thousand years are expired” and “the rest of the dead” are raised (compare verses 5a and 7). Satan gathers the lost for a final battle against God's City (vs. 8). A final judgment occurs, and then the lost are punished in the lake of fire (verses 9, 14-15). Then the old earth passes, and the new earth comes (Revelation 21:1).
The above points are undeniable, for this is exactly what Revelation 20 says. Two significant facts should be noted:
Revelation 20 doesn’t say there will be peace on earth during the 1000 years.
Revelation 20 doesn’t say Jesus Christ will rule during the 1000 years from the present city of Jerusalem
These common doctrines are being taught worldwide but are not found in Revelation 20, the only place in God’s Word that specifically mentions the 1000-year period. Now let’s go deeper.
Now, let’s discuss these two resurrections. Jesus did teach two resurrections.
28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29
Paul also taught two resurrections:
15 I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. Acts 24:15
So we see that both Jesus and Paul teach about two resurrections, one for the living (just) and one of condemnation (unjust). Revelation 20 revolves around these two resurrections. We know from Rev 20:4-6 that the first resurrection takes place before the 1000 years and the other resurrection takes place at the end of the 1000 years. It reads:
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. Rev 20:6
But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. Rev 20:5a
It is plain that there are two resurrections. One at the beginning of the Millennium, where true believers in Christ are raised to eternal life and one at the opposite end of the Millennium, where the “unjust” awake to something else entirely.
Before we figure out what the “unjust” awake to at their resurrection, what happens after those who are true believers are caught up to meet with Jesus?
The last sentence in Revelation 19 describes birds feasting upon “the flesh of all men” (vs. 21). Immediately following is Revelation 20, which depicts the binding of Satan so that he can “deceive the nations no more” during the 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3). Why not? The answer’s easy--there’s nobody left alive on earth to deceive. Those in the first resurrection were “caught up” to be with Jesus, and the rest, those left behind, were slain.
This helps explain what follows (Read carefully): “that he [Satan] should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years should be fulfilled” (Revelation 20:3). Notice these three words “no more until.” What do they tell us? They teach that those “nations” are entirely Satan’s nations. Satan is deceiving them now, but can’t continue deceiving them during the Millennium, “until” a certain time.
What time is that? When the 1000 years are over, obviously. Now put two and two together. At the end of the Millennium, “the rest of the dead” (who missed “the first resurrection”) are raised back to life. Then Satan deceives them again. Look again, and don’t let anyone convince you otherwise:
Verse 5a - “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished”
Verse 7 - “When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison”
At the end of the 1000 years, “the rest of the dead” are raised, and Satan is “loosed.” Therefore the raising of the “rest of the dead” is what “looses” the devil. Satan then swoops into these resurrected nations (now alive in the four corners of the earth), deceives them again, and then gathers them for the grand finale (verses 8-9).
What does all this mean? The answer will come shortly after we examine a few more crucial points.
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What is crucial to understand about the Millennium is the first texts of Revelation 20:1,2. These verses read:
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years
According to the text, Satan is bound by a great chain and thrown into a bottomless pit. The expression, “a great chain,” doesn’t mean a literal chain. Even today, all of “the angels that sinned” with Lucifer are described as being in “chains of darkness” (2 Peter 2:4). These words do not refer to actual clinking and clanging metal, but to circumstances of darkness that these angels find themselves in after having been booted out of heaven.
During the 1000 years, Satan is bound with a chain because of his new circumstances that prevent him from deceiving the nations. What are these new circumstances? Everyone left on earth is dead.
Now, what is this “bottomless pit?” The Old Testament defines the word “pit” as a grave, cemetery, or to the place of the dead. Here are some texts:
Psalms 55:23 - Evil men will go “down into the pit of destruction.”
Numbers 16:32-33 - “the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up ... into the pit.”
Ezekiel 32:22-23 - “his graves are about him ... in the sides of the pit ... all of them slain.”
Psalms 28:1 - David prayed not to “become like them that go down to the pit.”
Psalms 69:15 - “Let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.”
Numbers 16:32-33 - “the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up ... into the pit.”
Ezekiel 32:22-23 - “his graves are about him ... in the sides of the pit ... all of them slain.”
Psalms 28:1 - David prayed not to “become like them that go down to the pit.”
Psalms 69:15 - “Let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.”
Isaiah 14 contains one of the clearest prophecies about Satan. It reads:
12 “ How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘ I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 “ Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘ Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
18 “ All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave
Like an abominable branch,
Like the garment of those who are slain,
Thrust through with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit,
Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land
And slain your people.
The brood of evildoers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children
Because of the iniquity of their fathers,
Lest they rise up and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘ I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
15 Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.
16 “ Those who see you will gaze at you,
And consider you, saying:
‘ Is this the man who made the earth tremble,
Who shook kingdoms,
17 Who made the world as a wilderness
And destroyed its cities,
Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’
18 “ All the kings of the nations,
All of them, sleep in glory,
Everyone in his own house;
19 But you are cast out of your grave
Like an abominable branch,
Like the garment of those who are slain,
Thrust through with a sword,
Who go down to the stones of the pit,
Like a corpse trodden underfoot.
20 You will not be joined with them in burial,
Because you have destroyed your land
And slain your people.
The brood of evildoers shall never be named.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children
Because of the iniquity of their fathers,
Lest they rise up and possess the land,
And fill the face of the world with cities.”
He was cast out of heaven (vs.12) for exalting himself (vs.13). He is to be brought down “to sheol”(sheol means grave, pit) (vs.15). And interestingly enough, Isaiah 14:18-21 parallels perfectly the prophecy in Revelation 20:1-3.
When Revelation 20:1-3 describes Satan as bound with a chain for 1000 years, this means that a chain of circumstances will prevent him from deceiving the nations. The major circumstance is the return of Jesus Christ in “flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 2:8), the “sudden destruction” of sinners (1 Thessalonians 5:3), the largest earthquake in history (Revelation 16:18), the global crumbling of cities (Revelation 16:19), the disappearing of mountains and islands (Revelation 16:20), and the total depopulation of planet Earth just like “it was in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37-39). This “great day of the Lord” will come “as a destruction from the Almighty” (Joel 1:15). “And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be as dung upon the ground” (Jeremiah 25:33).
Earth will be like one gigantic bottomless pit, a huge cemetery. Jeremiah predicted:
23 I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the LORD,
By His fierce anger.
And the heavens, they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the LORD,
By His fierce anger.
Jeremiah 4:23-26
Satan and his angels can only wander about the earth and contemplate with trembling, the finals events to occur at the end of the 1000 years.
Far from a time of glory when Jesus reigns in Jerusalem
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The Millennium is not some idyllic era of peace and goodness, but a time of utter devastation and judgment. Now what about God’s people during this 1000 year period? Those who were part of the first resurrection?
Jesus stated in John 14:1-2 that he would be preparing mansions for us and that when He returns will he take us to Him so that where He is, we may be with Him also (vs.3). John beheld God’s saints in heaven:
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.” Revelation 19:1-2
Now, according to Revelation 20:4,6 the saints will “reign” with Jesus for 1000 years. This does not say they will reign on earth with Jesus. Why would Jesus and his people rule over a devastated and ruined world anyways? The Bible says we will soar upward when Christ returns (1 Thessalonians 4:17), that He will take us to the New Jerusalem (John 14:1-3), and that we will then be in heaven praising God (Revelation 19:1-2).
Some might ask, How can we “reign” for 1000 years if we’re in heaven? Don’t we have to be on earth to “reign” over others during this time? Not necessarily. The Bible also says the saints will “reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). Thus this “reign” idea implies we will be in some position of authority, just as Adam originally exercised dominion over the earth, that’s all.
Now, if the earth is desolate with no survivors, aside from Satan and his angels, and the saints are in heaven, what is the purpose of the 1000 years? There are a few possibilities that exist.
1) It gives the loyal universe an opportunity to behold the terrible results of Satan’s rule;
2) It gives the saints in heaven an opportunity to go through heaven’s records and to have all their questions answered about why some of their loved ones are there and some are not;
3) It provides a period of time when Jesus and the saints together can make decisions about the just punishments to be carried out upon the lost at the end of the 1000 years (see 1 Corinthians 6:2-3);
4) It also gives the saints a period of time to prepare mentally for the events at the end of the 1000 years, at which time many of their loved ones will be resurrected, judged, and sentenced to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:5a, 11-15).
2) It gives the saints in heaven an opportunity to go through heaven’s records and to have all their questions answered about why some of their loved ones are there and some are not;
3) It provides a period of time when Jesus and the saints together can make decisions about the just punishments to be carried out upon the lost at the end of the 1000 years (see 1 Corinthians 6:2-3);
4) It also gives the saints a period of time to prepare mentally for the events at the end of the 1000 years, at which time many of their loved ones will be resurrected, judged, and sentenced to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:5a, 11-15).
We don’t truly know what will happen during this reign, but the above is what is told to us through the Bible. My thinking is that the saints will go through all these “records” and will see all the times God tried to show his love to the “unjust”, all the chances he gave them to turn from their ways, as well as all the times He was rejected, was told to go away, all the times people denied and never wanted to believe. I think it will be a time where we will agree with God about the judgment of the unjust, those loved ones who turned away from God, the saints will agree with God’s judgment that he was fair, just, graceful, merciful and did his best to try and get as many of the unjust as possible into heaven. But of course, he doesn’t force anyone to decide and I would think that we would see that it was the “unjust’s” choice not to be a part of God’s kingdom. This is my interpretation and further thinking about the 4 possibilities that were mentioned above.
When really thinking about it, it is in harmony with the whole Bible itself. Where God says we have free will, and that He stands at the door and knocks at our hearts, hoping that we will freely welcome Him in to transform us to become just.
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When really thinking about it, it is in harmony with the whole Bible itself. Where God says we have free will, and that He stands at the door and knocks at our hearts, hoping that we will freely welcome Him in to transform us to become just.
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Okay, we have seen that at the Second Coming, Jesus returns, the saved (both the resurrected dead and those alive at His return) are taken to heaven where they “reign” for a thousand years, the earth is destroyed--and Satan remains captive there for the allotted thousand years. What then happens at the end of the thousand years?
Revelation 20 states two clear events that will happen at the end of the Millennium. The first is that the rest of the dead are raised to life (vs.5a) and that Satan is loosed (verses 3,7). Both of these events happen at the same time. When the lost are resurrected, Satan now has people he can once again deceive. He will “go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (verse 8). The “sand of the sea” is all the people from the time of Adam to those who died at the sudden destruction. This is every unjust person who has ever lived on the earth from its beginnings.
Once the lost are resurrected, Satan gathers them together for battle. So who will this terrible army attempt to fight? The Bible makes it perfectly clear who they will engage in battle: “They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Revelation 20:9. This is the New Jerusalem, the home of the saved (Revelation 3:12; 21:10), which descends from heaven to the earth (Revelation 3:12; 21:2) right before the second resurrection. Then Satan and his macabre army surround the “camp of the saints” in a last-ditch effort to conquer God's fortress.
This is Satan's last stand, his final opportunity to conquer Jesus Christ, His New Jerusalem, and the redeemed of all ages. But he can never defeat the King of the Universe. He failed miserably when Jesus was a lowly carpenter in human flesh. What chance does he have against Him now as King of the New Jerusalem? None whatsoever!
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After Satan’s army surrounds God’s city to make war against it, what will happen next?
8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. Revelation 20:8,9
The fate of this army is what is mentioned in verse 9, “fire came down from God out of Heave and devoured them.” Before the fire falls, however, a vast judgment unfolds:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Revelation 20:11-13
This judgment occurs while Satan and his army are gathered around the city. It only concerns the unjust, who are judged according to their works. As the books are opened above them, they are allowed to see the complete record of their lives. They are shown why they are lost, why they are outside of God’s city, why they have forfeited eternal life with Jesus. As the book of life is opened, they will see their names are not in it. Then Jesus will undoubtedly show them how much he loved them, how much he tried to save them, and yet by their own persistent efforts, they resisted his tender appeals. Yes, they will see that Jesus died for them, that he paid the penalty of death for them, that they could have been inside the city with the saints; but they choose their master and are with that master outside of the city. They will see that, though Jesus willingly took upon Himself the punishment that was theirs, they spurned Him, and now they are forced to stand before His holy majesty in the shame of their spiritual nakedness, with every wrong thought, every wrong word, and every wrong deed bearing down upon their consciences to condemn them, and there is no longer any Mediator to represent them and intercede for them.
After sentence is pronounced, the fire of God brings final retribution upon the lost. By this time, all the unsaved understand why they are lost. This destruction is an act of justice, not cruelty. The book of Revelation is very clear about God’s uprightness. “Just and true are your ways, O King of the saints” (Revelation 15:3); “You are righteous, O Lord ... Because you have judged these things” (Revelation 16:5); and “For true and righteous are His judgments” (Revelation 19:2).
The judgment at the close of the Millennium will be perfectly just, without any taint of imperfection chargeable upon God. By rejecting His love and mercy, and by a life of continued sinning, the lost have earned their just reward. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, holy angels, and the saints will all weep over the unsaved. But nothing more can be done. Now it’s too late.
Revelation 20:8 says the lost will march across “the four quarters of the earth” right before the fire falls upon them. Thus we conclude that God’s fire will descend all over planet Earth. This unquenchable downpour will become a “lake of fire” (14-15) boiling everywhere. Malachi 4:1, 3 says that entire fateful day will “burn as an oven.” 2 Peter 3:10 adds “...the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Thus God will totally purify and cleanse our sin-polluted earth with flames. In fact, 2 Peter 3 parallels the destruction of the world by water in Noah's day with the purification of the earth by fire at the end of the 1000 years (2 Peter 3:5-7). In Noah's day, the whole earth was under ‘a lake of water’; at the end of the 1000 years, this planet will be wrapped in “a lake of fire.” In Noah's day, God's people floated in the midst of the water but were protected inside the ark; at the end of the Millennium, when a lake of fire envelops our planet, God's saved “saints” will be right there, riding the storm safely inside the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 20 concludes with these solemn words, “Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Fortunately, that’s not the end of the story. The next verse reads: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1).
There is a new heaven! A new earth! What happened to the old ones? We just saw, a lake of fire consumed them. After God’s fire completely purifies this planet and its atmosphere, He will recreate the earth and sky-- a new heaven and a new earth. This cleansing fire will disappear as it purifies the earth of every trace of sin, sinners, Satan, and his angels. Everything will be made new again!
13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 2 Peter 3:13
Revelation 21 also adds:
4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:4-5
5 Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:4-5
As Noah and his family finally walked out of the ark onto a cleansed world, so will God's faithful saints finally step out of the New Jerusalem into a brand new world.
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To conclude, contrary to popular belief, the Biblical Millennium is a time of desolation and ruin, followed by more rebellion, then judgment, and finally a re-creation of the heavens and the earth. There are two resurrections as clearly indicated by the Bible itself, with a lot of support. Scriptures are in harmony with one another. One must always remember to pray for understanding and clarification. That the will of their heart be dissolved and that the will of God be pronounced.
The most important issue, however, isn’t so much our knowledge of millennial details but our knowledge of the God who has revealed the truth about it. What this entire post, paper, message, whatever you want to call it, has shown is that there is no second chance; there is no middle ground, no neutrality. This is a great war between Christ and Satan, and we happen to be caught in the middle of it. The outcome has been decided. All we can do is decide: are we for Jesus and are on his side? Or are we against Jesus and thus with Satan? There is no middle ground. The unjust will cease to exist at the end of the Millennium judgment and the saints will live forever.
Open the eyes of my heart Lord, I want to see you. Be blessed and glory and honor and power forever! Perfect are your ways, oh Lord. For the beginning of wisdom is knowledge and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding!
